FYI
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Talk To Others How You Want to Be Spoken To
You’ve heard treat others how you want to be treated, and that is still as true as ever but today I want to add another layer. You see more recently I’ve spent a lot of time talking with those much younger and much older than me. I volunteer in youth group with high school and middle schoolers, but I also worked at a school staffed mostly by adults over 30 for a half year, and I enjoy meeting and talking with others from every generation in general. The thing is I kept my speech pretty consistent, I do my best to respect every person I spoke with. I’ll admit my…
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Eat for the Job You Want
You’ve probably heard it said that you should dress for the job you want, but I would argue that how you eat plays into whether you can accomplish this. A nutritionist should be more acutely aware than anyone of what they’re eating and how it affects them, but an athlete has to eat far more calories than someone who mostly sits at a desk. A chef is more likely to try more unique foods than someone with various allergies. You may want to try other foods if you’re a travel blogger, or want to be one. An athlete has to eat far more calories, and then work out to burn…
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Hello, My Name Is ___
Names are powerful. ‘To any person, their name is the most beautiful world in the English language.’ (paraphrased, Dale Carnegie). I try my best to learn and use people’s names as I hear and read them. I’ll admit that names also make it way easier to connect with people. If you know their name people are more likely to turn to you, it’s just human nature. You’ll draw more people in if you mention them by name. Don’t believe me, think about how frustrating it is to hear your name pronounced wrong or see it spelled wrong, or have someone not remember your name that you thought you knew! It’s…
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Another Flight
So far I’ve taken four plane trips in my life, that fourth one being this morning and returning to Minneapolis in about a week. Today I have my first day of visiting a friend, touring the city, and seeing the ocean (finally!) in Los Angeles, California. That all being said flying in a wonderful freedom. I still remember each flight I’ve had so far quick distinctly. The first was to Disneyworld in Florida in 2005 my parents waited until we were old enough to go on all the cool rides and not just the kiddy ones, but booked the trip before I would’ve needed an adult ticket. It was a…
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Checking My List, Twice
Some people are arguing for not buying as much at Christmas, saying there’s a lot of gifts that go without much use after the holiday. I get this but here’s my solution, go a little more practical with your requests so family will at least have an idea of what to buy if they insist, or encourage kids (of any age) to be thinking about what they may want for a little larger portion of the year. Lately I’ve been asking for home items, and add-ons/accessories for items I already own. Then there’s the giving side of things. I always ask my family what they want and if its specific,…
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Intentionalism
Out of curiosity, I was looking at some minimalism videos on YouTube yesterday. The concept intrigues me but its far from perfect. But I noticed that one of the videos featured the two gentlemen behind “The Minimalists” podcast, and they were talking about minimalism being more than a word and that there’s no right way or wrong way necessarily to go about it, then they noted the word “intentionalism”. I really like this. I cleaned out my closet again yesterday, I had held on to a number of items that I realized no longer had any chance of fitting, being helpful, useful, or having potential. From old purses, to shirts…
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Invisible Memories
I love being off my phone in certain moments, but I’m trying to find a balance with it because that’s where my camera is nowadays. Plus if I’m going to avoid overdoing it on souvenirs wherever I go I’m going to want pictures to go with my memories. Sometimes I have to live with invisible memories though. Memories are important to me, its a part of every friendship and family relationship I can think of, and it makes me sad when I don’t have any physical item, photo or writing on it so I’m trying to capitalize more on the last two. This means taking a split second longer at family gatherings…
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The Grad in Praxis
Yes, I graduated Bethel University in 2017, and yes now I’m in Praxis, a program that is mostly for college opt outs. I’m done rationalizing either choice for other people, and apoligizing that I didn’t do things the way they would’ve. I prayed over my decisions, and I trust God. My high school pushed college, from advanced courses to AP to Early College options, to PSEO options (a program that lets high schoolers attend colleges for free). It was the path that I was expected to take and wanted to take. I’ll be honest, at that point there wasn’t another option for a person like me who was interested in…
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I Made the Right Move
Soon I’ll be moving out, but until then, I’ll be living with my parents, as I have all my life. Now before you go and say that I’m ungrateful, or taking advantage of living there, there are a few things you should know about what makes this the best situation for everyone involved, and maybe why should think more about where you live. I went to university, but I never actually lived at school. Instead, I saved about $10,000 a year and lived with my parents about 10 minutes away from school (30 minutes my community college year). I lived close enough where I could hang out at school at…
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Practically Best
Optimism is often underapreciated. I’ve heard a number of people talk about the “practicality” of being a pessimist. They say: “I get to be pleasantly surprised.” I don’t overhype things.” “It makes life easier.” What if I told you that I get to find more joy in life by thinking optimistically. What if I told you that even though I get excited and things don’t pan out the way I expect, I make the most of my situations, using optimism and creativity, and end up better off anyway in some cases. What if I even said, I don’t want “easy” I want what God wants even if its hard. I…
